THIS IS A PRESS RELEASE FROM THE OFFICE OF UNITED STATES SENATOR JAY ROCKEFELLER.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Jay Rockefeller and Robert C. Byrd, both D-W.Va., have announced that the Ripley Volunteer Fire Department is being awarded $192,935 as part of the 2007 Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) program. The funds will be used for turnout gear, air packs, a drug analyzer and a thermal imager.

“These grants, which support local fire departments and emergency medical services (EMS), will help make communities throughout West Virginia safer. Increasingly, firefighters are called upon to respond not only to fires and medical emergencies, but also to hazardous materials accidents and natural disasters. These grants directly fund efforts to improve the effectiveness of EMS and firefighting operations, to strengthen firefighter health and safety programs, and to establish and expand fire prevention programs,” Byrd said.

For Fiscal Year 2007, the AFG program will award a total of approximately $490 million in direct assistance to fire department and emergency medical service organizations to improve the effectiveness of firefighting operations and emergency response capabilities. First responder organizations can use the funds to purchase response equipment, personal protective equipment and vehicles.

“These funds represent an important commitment by the federal government to make sure our firefighters have everything they need to do their crucial, life-saving job,” Rockefeller said. “Firefighters are the backbone of public safety, and with this much-needed grant now secure – they will be better equipped to protect the people of this community.”

The grants are funded through the annual Department of Homeland Security Appropriations Act. Rockefeller has consistently supported funding for this program and for other first responder grant programs as well; and Byrd, the Chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee and also of that panel’s Homeland Security Subcommittee, has championed efforts to ensure funding and resources for America’s first responders.

The AFG program is administered through the Department of Homeland Security’s Preparedness Directorate Office of Grants and Training.